I fear people are going to stop inviting me to parties. At what should be a happy reception for a new series, or a celebration for Emmy nominations, along I come to start a downer conversation: “The world is burning, and what are we going to do about it?”
Perhaps the better question is, can we do anything about it? There are plenty of examples of how television helped advance social causes, perhaps the most famous of the last 25 years being the subtle impact of “Will & Grace.” That show was absolutely revolutionary when it came on in 1998, back when you could count the number of gay characters in primetime on one hand (if that!). Through humor, it showed people that there was no reason to fear progress, and it’s often cited as an important step toward legalized gay marriage.
That was a heady era, when “The West Wing” gave us a hopeful vision of what a White House could look like. And after years of a shameful lack of diversity on TV, the networks were making good on their promises to improve representation. But around the same time was the birth of cutthroat, winner-takes all reality TV and shows that focused on anti-heroes.
Those programs brought a new edge to storytelling that, in hindsight, perhaps also played a role in what has become a coarsening of the culture. I’m thinking about how, from the beginning, “Survivor” rewarded players who were the most conniving, the most unethical and willing to stab others in the back — creating an “I’m not here to make friends” ethos that now rules our culture.
On “Breaking Bad,” fans cheered on Walter White, “the one who knocks,” as he morphed from being a kindhearted “Mr. Chips” into a diabolical “Scarface.” These are some of the best shows of all time, but did too many people take away the wrong message?
I bring up Walter White because I’m still thinking about “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan’s speech earlier this year as he accepted the Writers Guild of America West’s top writing honor. Gilligan expressed a tinge of regret over creating the character, given the present world we’re living in — where being a convicted felon accused of doing some repugnant things doesn’t preclude you from being elected to higher office. Gilligan now hopes that TV shows might return to more aspirational storytelling and true heroes.
“I really think we have a lot of power as writers and as actors, as storytellers, artists, to show the world in a way that it either is like that, or it could be like that,” he said backstage after his speech. “What kind of world you want to live in?”
Definitely not the one we’re living in now, where our rights are continually under attack, our speech threatened, our healthcare slashed, our standing on the world stage destroyed, a secret police in ICE now roaming the streets and violently arresting people without just cause, military forces are being moved into our cities because they don’t support the president, women’s rights have been taken away, the advancement in gay marriage we just celebrated is now being threatened, books are being banned, important national institutions are being destroyed, and so on. (Gang, it hasn’t even been nine months yet.)
That’s why before we move on to creating new images of the world we’d like to see, we need to chronicle the one we’re now in. Hold a mirror up to the reality of the situation in the hopes that maybe the public will understand what’s at stake (and not sugarcoat this quick plunge into fascism we’re all witnessing).
Among this year’s Emmy nominees, “Andor” has been lauded for its depiction of what happens when authoritarian rule takes hold — and how to resist. And before that, “The Handmaid’s Tale” was chillingly accurate in predicting where we would end up. “The Boys” is a not-so-shaded document of what happens when fascism wins.
In the coming months and years, the reality of our situation will need to be embedded in many shows (particularly, but not limited to drama) that traverse our real world. Will political dramas depict the crumbling of America’s place and influence in the world? Will legal dramas take on the ICE invasions of our cities? What about the attempts to silence journalists? The move to erase the sometimes ugly truth about this country’s history? The stripping of diversity, equity and inclusion standards? How corporations, in self-interest and self-greed, are bending at the knee to please our rulers? The assault on our higher learning institutions? The defunding of scientific research?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These aren’t normal times, so we can’t rely on normal stories in our TV shows. And with that, I need a glass of red wine — hey, I’m available to talk more at your next soirée!
